'op-ed' originates from English, specifically the phrase 'opposite the editorial page', where 'opposite' meant 'across from' and 'editorial' referred to the newspaper's editorial page.

'op-ed' changed from the full phrase 'opposite the editorial page' used in newspapers and was shortened and hyphenated to 'op-ed'; the modern use spread particularly after newspapers (notably The New York Times) established a dedicated op-ed page around 1970.

Initially, it meant 'the page opposite the editorial page in a newspaper', but over time it came to mean 'an opinion piece or column published on that page' (and more generally any opinion article regardless of physical page placement).